By Harper Huntington, NSEA Education Coordinator

The arrival of spring marks the beginning of NSEA’s salmon release season, a key part of our Students for Salmon program. Eighteen Whatcom County schools — along with the Bellingham Central Library — have been raising salmon in aquariums with support from NSEA and funding from the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI).

After observing the salmon grow from egg to alevin to fry, it was finally time to release them on their journey to the ocean. The journey began in January when NSEA delivered 200 Chum or Coho salmon eggs from the Kendall Creek and Skookum Creek hatcheries to each aquarium.

Alongside classroom lessons about salmon and what they need to thrive, fourth graders tested their tank water regularly to ensure it stayed cold, clean, and clear. The Salmon in Schools experience gives students the chance to apply the concepts they’re learning in class to the real world — while forming a lasting personal connection to salmon.

The program culminated with a field trip, where students released their salmon fry into a local creek. Each student had a moment to connect with their fish — naming it, making a wish, or even sharing a poem before letting it go. One student wrote:

“Dear salmon, I wish you well,
On this challenge you will tell,
I hope you are one of two that will survive,
I wish you well, I hope you thrive.”

It was a bittersweet moment, but the students were buzzing with excitement as they watched their fry swim away — hopeful they might see them again someday.

Thanks to a partnership with the Bellingham Public Library, NSEA was able to bring this program to the broader community by setting up an aquarium in the Central Branch downtown. Additional activities included salmon-themed story times, crafts, and a livestream camera in the tank. The program culminated in a public salmon release ceremony, supported by library staff and presenters from White Swan Environmental, where more than 300 community members walked the path down to Whatcom Creek to release their own salmon fry.

Salmon Release Bellingham Library March 29th, 2025

These aquariums provide a powerful opportunity to educate and inspire — helping community members form a deep, personal connection to salmon and encouraging them to become better environmental stewards.

This spring, we released over 3,000 salmon fry across Whatcom County. And if you visit a local creek four to six years from now, you just might spot one of those same salmon returning home to spawn — continuing the cycle once again.

By Eli DeWitt, Instream Project Manager

Terrell Creek is a shoreline stream that originates from the 200-hectare Lake Terrell in northwest Ferndale. It flows just over 7.5 miles through a mix of agricultural, residential, and conserved lands before emptying into Birch Bay in Blaine. The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) owns the Lake Terrell Wildlife Area, which is used for waterfowl hunting and fishing.

Much of Terrell Creek is under conservation due to efforts by British Petroleum (BP), WDFW, and Birch Bay State Park, as these entities own large portions of the watershed. The Nooksack Salmon Enhancement Association (NSEA) has collaborated with approximately half of the landowners along the creek, working to restore its habitat since the early 2000s. Over the years, we have partnered with local groups such as Chums of Terrell and Birch Bay Water and Resource Management (BBWARM) to improve the Terrell Creek watershed.

Historically, Terrell Creek supported healthy runs of coho and chum salmon, as well as steelhead and cutthroat trout. However, these populations have declined due to habitat loss, degradation, and human alterations such as the removal of beaver dams, wetland drainage, and channel dredging. One major issue NSEA has worked on is removing fish passage barriers. Since habitat loss is a key factor in the decline of salmon populations, improving access to suitable habitat is essential for their recovery.

NSEA has taken multiple steps to improve access for migrating fish in Terrell Creek:

2007: We removed a concrete dam from private property, improving access to upstream habitat in Terrell and Fingalson Creeks and their tributaries.
2012: In partnership with WDFW, the concrete dam just downstream of Lake Terrell was removed. While a small check dam remains to stabilize the lake level, this project restored a more natural water flow and improved fish access to the lake and its tributaries.
2014: We replaced a barrier culvert with a concrete bridge on private property, improving fish passage while ensuring landowner access to their property.
2019: Removed barrier culverts and installed concrete bridge on a Lake Terrell tributrary to improve upstream access for fish, and again ensuring access for the landowner.
2021: We retrofitted a concrete box culvert with flexible rubber baffles, which slow and back up water flow, allow sediment accumulation, and create resting areas for fish. We also placed logs for habitat and sediment control on the reach between Brown Rd. and Aldergrove Rd.

Thanks to these efforts, fish passage along Terrell Creek has significantly improved over the past two decades. Chum salmon have been spotted just downstream of Lake Terrell, signaling the restoration of fish access at least to the lake.

Join us on Friday, April 25th, for a Terrell Creek Habitat Tour to learn more about our restoration efforts and their impact on salmon recovery.

Stay tuned to Fish Tales as we continue the tale of Terrell Creek with the addition of large woody debris!

Raising Salmon in Schools All Over Whatcom County

Terrell Creek: A Legacy of Salmon Habitat Improvement